Jason Puracal fights return to Nicaragua
Oct 22, 2012, 5:39 AM | Updated: 7:01 am
Jason Puracal, just released from two years of imprisonment in Nicaragua, sits for an interview on Monday, Sept. 17, 2012 in New York. Puracal, from Tacoma, Wash., had his 22-year conviction on drug and money laundering charges vacated by a three panel Nicaraguan appellate court. (AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
(AP Photo/Bebeto Matthews)
Prosecutors in Nicaragua have filed an appeal with that country’s Supreme Court seeking to reinstate the sentence of Tacoma native Jason Puracal.
Puracal was acquitted last month by an appeals court after serving two years of a 22 year sentence for drug charges.
“I am an innocent man, there is no evidence against me and the state of Nicaragua is not allowed to continue this case against me,” Puracal tells KING 5.
Puracal and his attorney are working with leaders at Seattle University’s School of Law to file a petition with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.
“The hope is to basically squash the case and make a final judgement in international courts that says that I am an innocent man and there is no evidence against me, and the state of Nicaragua is not allowed to continue this case against me,” he says.
Puracal says he is slowly adjusting to his new life in Seattle with his wife and young son. He says he hopes to pursue a Masters in Business at Seattle’s Bainbridge Graduate Institute.
“I’m basically starting from zero or negative. There’s just so many little things that people take for granted, like getting a drivers license and getting a cell phone and getting an email account. And now I’m on Facebook,” he says.
